


real estate

by jaem4rks



Series: nct shorts [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Childhood Memories, Fluff, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT)-centric, Reflection, Slice of Life, Swing Set, other members mentioned - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 13:51:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20707079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaem4rks/pseuds/jaem4rks
Summary: The small corner of suburbia they’d been raised in was pretty much defined by memories of Donghyuck for Mark - their first day of school, countless homecoming dances, soccer games, musicals, prom, graduation.Mark hadn’t done anything growing up without Donghyuck by his side.(aka the one where mark reflects on memories of home and growing up, and what it means for home to be a person, not a place.)





	real estate

**Author's Note:**

> hi so i kinda randomly banged this out in like an hour today.
> 
> the insp for this was this book i bought which has a bunch of writing prompts and the goal is to finish each one of them and this was the first one in it! 
> 
> title from the song real estate by adam melchor bc i listened to it on repeat while writing this. 
> 
> pls enjoy!

It was that fleeting hour of day when the moon and sun are high and bright at the same time. Like many things in life, these summer nights wouldn’t last much longer. Mark sat quietly on a swing in the park at the primary school he’d gone to. 

He felt strange, being twenty and a different person entirely in a place he’d spent years of his life - like his skin was stretched too far for his body, like he didn’t exactly  _ fit  _ anymore. 

Mark always felt nostalgic being in his hometown, visiting restaurants and stores he’d spent his whole childhood frequenting. 

He’d been lucky, having grown up somewhere his growth had been nurtured, supported; somewhere he could be himself and was encouraged to do so. 

His hometown brought so many memories - good, bad, even ones in between.

It brought back Jeno, barely sixteen, laughing so hard he couldn’t see; Renjun, just turned six, struggling to speak English and always turning to Jaemin for help; Johnny, teasing him about anything and everything, just like older brothers should. 

Most of all, though, it brought back Donghyuck - a steady, comforting presence in every single one of Mark’s childhood memories; a hand on his shoulder, his laugh mixed in with everyone else’s, his breath during a sleepover. 

The small corner of suburbia they’d been raised in was pretty much defined by memories of Donghyuck for Mark - their first day of school, countless homecoming dances, soccer games, musicals, prom, graduation. Mark hadn’t done anything growing up without Donghyuck by his side. 

A hand on his shoulder draws Mark from his thoughts, “Dork. What are you doing?”

Mark glances around them, shrugging, “Swinging,” he says matter-of-factly. He hadn’t even heard Donghyuck walk onto the woodchips covering the ground around the swings, too lost in his head. 

Donghyuck laughs, the sound tugging at something deep in Mark’s chest. 

Everything feels too much - university starting again, moving back to the city, leaving his parents and Jeno and Jaemin and Renjun, even Johnny. 

“Hey,” Donghyuck sounds serious now, can tell Mark’s head is somewhere else, “Everything okay?” 

Mark shrugs again, “I don’t really know.” 

Donghyuck smiles, always calm, steady, even in the face of Mark feeling unbalanced, out of orbit, too little like himself to even pretend he’s okay. 

Donghyuck grabs both of his hands, wraps his own around them tightly and holds on until Mark feels a little more grounded. “Focus on this.” 

“I don’t want to go back,” he admits quietly. 

The younger frowns, then, “Jun would  _ murder  _ you if you stayed because of them.” 

“How’d you know I was thinking about him? Maybe I meant I didn’t want to leave Johnny.” 

Donghyuck snorts, “All I’ve heard the  _ entire  _ summer is you complaining about how him and Jaehyun are gross.” 

Mark chuckles, slipping his hands from Donghyuck’s and grabbing the younger by the waist to pull him into his lap on the swing. 

“This doesn’t really work,” he says quickly, trying to get off of Mark. 

He’s not  _ wrong _ , it doesn’t work, both of their legs squished together for Donghyuck to fit -  _ and _ he’s pretty much stacked on top of Mark. 

Mark presses his face into Donghyuck’s neck instead of answering, “Can we just stay like this forever?” 

Mark can feel a shiver run down Donghyuck’s spine as his lips move against his skin, “Unfortunately not. I think your mom  _ and  _ my mom would kill both of us if I let you drop out of university to sit on a swing forever when you’re already halfway done your degree.” 

Mark sighs, sending another shiver down his spine, “You’re probably right.” 

Donghyuck hums, “When am I not?” 

Mark chuckles once more, “Should we get into that? I’m sure Jaem would have a lot of input if I called him.” 

Donghyuck turns his body as well as he can to hit him on the shoulder, “Shut up.” 

They sit silently, the sun setting further into the night, darkness creeping up on them slowly. 

“How’d you find me, anyway?” 

Donghyuck manages to finally escape Mark’s grip, then, standing back up and pulling the older with him, “You’ve been coming back here every time something was wrong since we were six. When you didn’t show up to Jen’s goodbye party on time I knew exactly where you were.” 

“I didn’t know I was so predictable,” Mark replies teasingly. 

“You’re becoming too boring for me, Mark Lee. Try and mix things up sometimes, okay?” Donghyuck’s voice is  _ dripping _ sarcasm as he grabs Mark’s hand, dragging him along the short walk back to Jeno’s house from the park. 

“Ouch,” Mark presses his free hand to his chest, “You wound me.” 

Donghyuck laughs again, the sound making butterflies erupt in Mark’s stomach like it has since he was thirteen and realized he was completely enamoured with his best friend. 

“C’mon you big baby, Jeno said that Jisung  _ cried _ earlier when he found out you were leaving again. You need to give the kid a hug.” 

“Jisung’s like five, isn’t  _ he  _ the baby?”

Donghyuck looks smug as he laughs, “Maybe. You wanna try telling him that?” 

“I’m not getting into a twenty-minute debate with a five-year-old about whether or not he’s a big kid. Once was enough,” Mark shakes his head fondly thinking about Jeno’s younger brother. 

By the time they get to Jeno’s door, the sun has finally set, the chill of the late summer night just starting to seep in past Mark’s long-sleeve tee. 

“Hey,” Donghyuck tugs on Mark’s hand right before he opens the front door, “You know I’m always here, right? Always.” 

“Hyuck, there’s one reason I’m able to leave this place at the end of every summer and it isn’t because of school.” 

Donghyuck laughs, but his cheeks are red, eyes turning to the welcome mat on Jeno’s porch. 

“Seriously, Hyuck,” the younger looks up, “As much as I miss home,  _ this _ home, during the school year,  _ you’re _ home for me, too.” 

“That’s so cheesy,” he mutters, but his cheeks have turned even redder, and he’s smiling shyly at Mark. 

Mark hums softly, “Only for you.” 

“ _ Gross _ .” 

Mark grabs Donghyuck by his belt loops, pulling him a little closer and tucking a strand of his hair, which he’s let grow much longer than usual, behind his ear. 

“You know I love you, right?” 

Donghyuck smiles, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “You know I love you too, right?” 

Mark pecks him on the lips briefly, “I know.” 

They head inside after that, hands still tightly entwined until Mark has to pick Jisung up to stop the five-year-old from crying as he promises to come back for Thanksgiving and visit him. 

Mark still doesn’t want to leave his hometown the following afternoon, too attached to the memories and comfort and familiarity it brings. 

When Donghyuck turns from the other side of the room where he’s sitting with Jaemin to smile at him, though, Mark thinks that maybe he’s bringing a piece of it with him; and that makes everything a lot better. 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed! feedback is greatly appreciated <3 
> 
> follow me on twt [here](https://twitter.com/jaem4rks)! (if u want)


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